Psychological Causes of Bedwetting in Adults

In this guide, we are going to look at psychological causes of bedwetting in adults. You may have seen adults who, because of many reasons, find themselves wetting their beds at night. Such is a classic example of adult nocturnal enuresis or simply adult bedwetting.

Although bedwetting is primarily a problem of kids, many adults also experience it. Adults who have nocturnal enuresis cannot control the bladder at night and end up wetting the bed repeatedly. If you have been wetting your bed two or three times a week, then the chances are that you are among the 1% of the adult population who have the problem.

Bedwetting in adults causes embarrassment and may interfere with the social lives of the persons who are affected. You can imagine the kind of trouble an adult who wets the bed at night goes through.

What are psychological factors of bedwetting?

You should remember that psychological factors may cause both primary and secondary bedwetting. Psychological factors are situations that affect your overall state of mental health. The following are some of the significant psychological conditions that are associated with bedwetting in adults.

Stress. When you feel that you are facing demands that are too much for you, you may quickly get stressed up. Adults who are supposed to meet serious obligations within very short times may show all the signs and symptoms of stress. If you are severely stressed up, and you experience other factors such as an enlarged prostate, the side effects of some drugs and others, you may quickly start experiencing the situation.

Anxiety occurs when someone feels exceptionally restless or uneasy. As it is the case of stress, anxiety is one of the leading risk factors for bedwetting in adults. If you are incredibly anxious, and then you are using some medication that increases your bladder function, then you may start wetting the bed at night.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD, as it is known in short form, can be a significant risk factor for bedwetting in adults. If you have seen a person who has experienced a traumatizing event in the past, then you may have noticed how easy it is for the person to wet the bed while sleeping at times.

Sleep disorders. Sleep disorders usually interfere with the quality and amount of sleep. If you have a sleep disorder, you may not go through the usual sleep process. Because of the effect of sleep disorders on your overall level of health, they may trigger episodes of wetting the bed.

Many other psychological conditions may contribute to adult nocturnal enuresis. For example, older adults who have significant mental states may experience bedwetting.

Diagnosing Psychological causes of bedwetting

If you have been wetting your bed for several weeks now, then the chances are that you have adult bedwetting problems. When doctors are diagnosing this condition, they take the time to examine every probable cause. Mostly, doctors focus on psychological and drug-related causes as the main culprits.

If doctors suspect that you have enuresis that is caused by your psychological condition, they will take you through the following process to reach the diagnosis.

They will do a detailed examination of your medical history to establish how you have been passing urine and whether you have had any of the major health conditions.

They will then examine you physically to figure out if there is any issue in your body which may be of interest to them about your condition.

The doctors may order some lab tests to rule out all the other probable causes of your condition.

Once they have ruled out other probable causes such as genetics, spinal injury, enlarged prostate, and medication, they will then examine your psychological health status to figure out whether it is connected to your condition.

It is after doctors are certain that psychological factors are the main causes of your bedwetting that they can attempt to help you.

Managing psychological causes of adult bedwetting

If mental conditions cause your bedwetting, then it makes sense for doctors to focus on your psychological problem as a way of addressing the situation.

If, for example, PTSD causes your bedwetting, your doctor will recommend a series of therapies and drugs to help you overcome the psychological problem.

In some cases, doctors may still use methods that are specific to treating bedwetting. Here are some of the methods that your doctor may use to help you.

Bedwetting alarm systems. These are special devices that you can use to help you avoid wetting your bed. Your doctor will recommend the best device that you can use to help you learn how to control your bladder.

In some cases, your doctor may recommend desmopressin to help control your nocturnal enuresis.

Bladder control. Your doctor may help you to learn how to control your bladder by teaching you how to delay urination over time. You may have to go through the special exercises for a few weeks before you master how to control your bladder and overcome nocturnal enuresis